S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) reported its results for the third quarter. Valero Energy is an independent refining and marketing company, which owns and operates refineries in the United States and Canada.

Results: Net income for the oil refining and marketing fell to $674 million ($1.21 per share) vs. $1.2 billion ($2.11 per share) a year earlier. This is a decline of 44% from the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 3% to $34.73 billion from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: Valero Energy Corporation reported adjusted net income of $1.90 per share. By that measure, the company beat the mean estimate of $1.75 per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $26.81 billion.

Quoting Management: “Even with lower margins than last year, we reported solid financial results,” said Valero Chairman and CEO Bill Klesse. “During the third quarter, we elected to reorganize the Aruba refinery into a crude oil and refined products terminal, did major-reliability work at the Meraux refinery, and continued to pursue the separation of our retail business. The new Port Arthur hydrocracker is expected to be operational in December, and the new St. Charles hydrocracker remains on schedule to be operational in the second quarter of 2013.”

Key Stats:

The company has now topped analyst estimates for the last four quarters. It beat the mark by 8 cents in the second quarter, by 2 cents in the first quarter, and by 4 cents in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.

Revenue has increased for four quarters in a row. Revenue increased 10.8% to $34.66 billion in the second quarter. The figure rose 33.7% in the first quarter from the year earlier and climbed 86.4% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year from the year-ago quarter.

Looking Forward: Analysts appear increasingly optimistic about the company’s results for the next quarter. The average estimate for the fourth quarter has moved up from 56 cents a share to $1 over the last ninety days. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has moved up from $3.70 a share to $4.45 over the last ninety days.